Although medical marijuana is now legal in twenty-three states, including New Mexico, it remains illegal under federal law. This creates a challenging legal landscape for employers who want or need to drug test employees, but do not want to expose themselves to potential liability for disability discrimination. The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, § 26-2B-1 NMSA et seq. legalizes the appropriate use of medical marijuana in New Mexico. Employers can rest assured that the law is clear on one thing: Employers may take action against employees for using medical marijuana in the workplace or for being impaired on the job. So far, it is clear that employers do not violate the federal ADA by prohibiting even off-site medical marijuana use because marijuana remains illegal under federal law; however, New Mexico courts may find that such prohibitions violate the NMHRA.
Hiring Tips Blog

Medical Marijuana and Employment Discrimination in New Mexico
Aug 1, 2015 | EEOC, Pre-employment Drug Testing
Recent Posts
- Cleveland Will Prohibit Salary Inquiries and Require Salary Ranges in Job Postings
- Avoid EEOC Complaints
- The “Gold Standard”
- US Replaces ‘Noncitizen’ with ‘Alien’ in Employment Verification Form of Foreign Workers
- Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Against Employees Has Been Gradual. That May Soon Change.
Categories
- Background Check Compliance (99)
- Background Check Laws (58)
- Background Screening (39)
- Biometric Identification (2)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (1)
- Credit Checks (32)
- Criminal History Check (176)
- Data Protection & Privacy (96)
- E-Verify Issues (74)
- Education Verification (7)
- Educational and Childcare Hiring (28)
- EEOC (48)
- Employer Negligence (36)
- Employment Screening (134)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (108)
- Featured Posts (1)
- Financial Services Hiring (11)
- Healthcare Hiring (2)
- Hiring Legal Compliance (1)
- Home Services and Repairs Hiring (6)
- Human Resources & Benefits (26)
- Immigration Issues (85)
- IT and Data Security Hiring (10)
- Medical & Pharmaceutical Industry Hiring (9)
- Occupational Fraud (10)
- Pre-employment Drug Testing (182)
- Retail Hiring (14)
- Security Services Hiring (3)
- Social Media (32)
- Transportation Industry Hiring (19)
- Uncategorized (1)
- Wage History Checks (4)